Paint Chip and Drip Catching Ladder Accessory

ABSTRACT

The present invention is a paint chip and drip catching ladder accessory, which is used to prevent stray paint particles from hitting the surrounding area while painting. The present invention comprises a trough and two ladder attachments. The trough is used to catch both wet paint drops and dry paint chips from hitting the ground. The trough is also used to carry the stray paint particles to a wastebasket. Each of the ladder attachments have an insert that can be pushed into the outer side of a ladder, which allows the ladder attachments to be properly positioned along the ladder. The two ladder attachments extend away from the ladder in order to support the trough from the bottom. A plurality of grooves, which is located on the two ladder attachments, allows the trough to be adequately situated on the two ladder attachments.

The current application claims a priority to the U.S. Provisional Patentapplication Ser. No. 61/381,102 filed on Sep. 9, 2010.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for catchingpaint drips and paint scrapings. More particularly, its objective is toprovide a more user-friendly and efficient attachment device to catchpaint drips and flakes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

To avoid the mess of wet paint hitting the home tiles or drivewaypavement, painters typically use a drop cloth or a plurality of dropcloths to prevent paint from staining furniture, carpets, tiles,pavement, etc. But drop cloths have a limit when trying to prevent wetpaint from dripping or paint chips from falling into one's garden orflowerbed. Another popular item amateur or even professional paintersuse to prevent such paint stains are paint drip buckets, lids, or pans.These said items cover a less desirable area of space, making theminefficient and, many times, counterproductive for the painter. It is anobject of the present invention to introduce a ladder accessory whichallows the painter to efficiently catch paint chips and drips, therebyeasily preventing potential stains and paint particles from falling onrelevant surfaces, and using the accessory as a means to trap and easilytransport scrapings to a wastebasket.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention in its entirety.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the present invention without thefabric.

FIG. 3 is a magnified perspective view of the ladder attachment.

DETAIL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE INVENTION

All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describingselected versions of the present invention and are not intended to limitthe scope of the present invention.

As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the present invention is a paint chipand drip catching ladder accessory, which is used while painting on aladder to prevent a mess of wet paint drops and dry paint chips in thesurrounding area. The paint chip and drip catching ladder accessorycomprises a left ladder attachment 1, a right ladder attachment 2, and atrough 12. The trough 12 allows the present invention to catch the wetpaint drops and dry paint chips before they are able to land in thesurrounding area. The trough 12 also allows for easy transport of thepaint particles to the trash can. The left ladder attachment 1 and theright ladder attachment 2 support and properly situate the trough 12along the ladder.

The trough 12 is a long receptacle that is positioned underneath thearea being painted. The trough 12 comprises a spine rod 13, a left hinge14, a right hinge 15, a front frame 16, a back frame 17, and a fabric18. The front frame 16 is the structure that delineates the front partof the trough 12, and the back frame 17 is the structure that delineatesthe back part of the trough 12. In the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention, the front frame 16 and the back frame 17 are stapleshaped. The bottom left corner of the front frame 16 is jointlyconnected to the bottom left corner of the back frame 17 by the lefthinge 14. Similarly, the bottom right corner of the front frame 16 isjointly connected to the bottom right corner of the back frame 17 by theright hinge 15. The left hinge 14 and the right hinge 15 allow the frontframe 16 and the right frame to rotate about an axis containing both theleft hinge 14 and the right hinge 15. The left hinge 14 and the righthinge 15 allows the front frame 16 and the back frame 17 to rotate awayfrom each to make the trough 12 larger or allows the front frame 16 andthe back frame 17 to rotate towards each other to make the trough 12smaller, or to close the trough 12 entirely, to trap the contents of thetrough 12. The spine rod 13 is positioned along the axis containing boththe left hinge 14 and the right hinge 15 and is connected in between theleft hinge 14 and the right hinge 15. The spine rod 13 is the structurethat forms the bottom of the trough 12. The front frame 16, the spinerod 13, and the back frame 17 delineates the entire structure of thetrough 12, but the fabric 18 actually allows the trough 12 to catch thewet paint drops and the dry paint chips. The fabric 18 is adhered to andstretched across the front frame 16, the spine rod 13, and the backframe 17.

To adequately position the trough 12, the front frame 16 rests againstthe wall that the ladder is leaning on, the back frame 17 rests againstthe ladder, and the spine rod 13 is support from the bottom by both theleft ladder attachment 1 and the right ladder attachment 2. The leftladder attachment 1 and the right ladder attachment 2 each comprise aladder panel 3, a ladder insert 4, a handle 5, a pair of rod holes 6, anL-shaped rod 7, an extension arm 10, and a plurality of spine grooves11. The configuration of either ladder attachment is illustrated in FIG.3. The ladder panel 3 allows the ladder attachment to brace the outerside the ladder. The ladder insert 4 is connected to one side of theladder panel 3, and the handle 5 is attached to the other side of theladder panel 3 by a fastening means. The ladder insert 4 is placed intothe side of the ladder to situate the ladder attachment at the properheight and position. An extension ladder is the most common householdladder and usually has a plurality of hollow rungs, which areperpendicularly connected in between a pair of vertical supports. Theplurality of hollow rungs will typically traverse through each of thepair of vertical supports and will be exposed on the outer side of theextension ladder. In general, the ladder insert 4 is placed into one ofthe plurality of hollow rungs in order to situate the ladder attachment.In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the ladder insert4 is shaped like a whisk, which sturdy enough to adequately support theladder attachment on the ladder and flexible enough to easily push theladder insert 4 into one of plurality of hollow rungs. The handle 5allows a user to easily grasp the ladder attachment when the ladderinsert 4 needs to placed into the outer side of the ladder or when theladder insert 4 needs to be pulled out of the outer side of the ladder.In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the handle 5 isU-shaped, where the ends of the U-shaped handle 5 are attached to theladder panel 3. The pair of rod holes 6 is located on handle 5 and isconcentric with each other. The pair of rod holes 6 is also positionedon opposite ends of the handle 5 adjacent to the ladder panel 3 becausethe pair of rod holes 6 should not interfere with the user's ability tograsp the handle 5 as the L-shaped rod 7 traverses through the pair ofrod holes 6. The L-shaped rod 7 comprises a vertical portion 8 and ahorizontal portion 9. The vertical portion 8 is the part of the L-shapedrod 7 that traverses through the pair of rod holes 6. The horizontalportion 9 is perpendicularly connected atop the vertical portion 8 andis used to properly align the extension arm 10. The extension arm 10 isconnected to the horizontal portion 9 opposite to the vertical portion8. The extension arm 10 is used to the support the trough 12 from thebottom by extending away from the ladder attachment and the ladder. Inpreferred embodiment of the present invention, the extension arm 10 iswelded to the horizontal portion 9.

The left ladder attachment 1 and the right ladder attachment 2 work inconjunction to support the trough 12 from the bottom. The extension arm10 of the left ladder attachment 1 supports the bottom left half of thetrough 12. The extension arm 10 of the right ladder attachment 2supports the bottom right half of the trough 12 and is parallel to theextension arm 10 of the left ladder attachment 1. The plurality of spinegrooves 11 is positioned on the extension arm 10. In the preferredembodiment of the present invention, the plurality of spine grooves 11is semicircular notches filed into the extension arm 10. Each of theplurality of spine grooves 11 on the extension arm 10 of the left ladderattachment 1 has a corresponding spine groove positioned on theextension arm 10 of the right ladder attachment 2. The spine rod 13 isplaced into one plurality of spine grooves 11 on the left ladderattachment 1 and the corresponding spine groove on the right ladderattachment 2 in order to prevent the trough 12 from sliding out of placeon the left ladder attachment 1 and the right ladder attachment 2.

Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferredembodiment, it is to be understood that many other possiblemodifications and variations can be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:
 1. A paint chip and drip catching ladder accessorycomprises, a left ladder attachment; a right ladder attachment; atrough; said left ladder attachment and said right ladder attachmenteach comprise a ladder panel, a ladder insert, a handle, a pair of rodholes, an L-shaped rod, an extension arm, and a plurality of spinegrooves; said trough comprises a spine rod, a left hinge, a right hinge,a front frame, a back frame, and a fabric; and said L-shaped rodcomprises a vertical portion and a horizontal portion.
 2. The paint chipand drip catching ladder accessory as claimed in claim 1 comprises, saidleft ladder attachment being positioned adjacent and below said trough;said right ladder attachment being positioned adjacent and below saidtrough opposite said left ladder attachment; and said trough beingseated upon said left ladder attachment and said right ladderattachment.
 3. The paint chip and drip catching ladder accessory asclaimed in claim 1 comprises, said ladder insert being centrallyconnected on said ladder panel; said handle being attached onto saidladder panel opposite said ladder insert; said pair of rod holes beingpositioned opposite of each other on said handle; said pair of rod holesbeing positioned concentric to each other; said pair of rod holes beingtraversed through by said L-shaped rod; said L-shaped rod beingconnected to said extension arm opposite said pair of rod holes; andsaid plurality of spine grooves being positioned on said extension arm.4. The paint chip and drip catching ladder accessory as claimed in claim3 comprises, said horizontal portion being perpendicularly connectedatop to said vertical portion; said pair of the rod holes beingtraversed through by said vertical portion; and said extension arm beingconnected parallel to said horizontal portion opposite of said verticalportion.
 5. The paint chip and drip catching ladder accessory as claimedin claim 3 comprises, said plurality of spine grooves of said leftladder attachment and said plurality of spine grooves of said rightladder attachment being positioned to align with each other.
 6. Thepaint chip and drip catching ladder accessory as claimed in claim 1comprises, said front frame being jointly connected to said back frameby said left hinge and said right hinge; said spine rod being connectedin between said left hinge and said right hinge; said fabric beingpositioned over said front frame, said spine rod, and said back frame;and said fabric being adhered to said front frame and said back frame.7. The paint chip and drip catching ladder accessory as claimed in claim6 comprises, said plurality of spine grooves of said left ladderattachment and said plurality of spine grooves of said right ladderattachment being engaged by said spine rod.
 8. A paint chip and dripcatching ladder accessory comprises, a left ladder attachment; a rightladder attachment; a trough; said left ladder attachment and said rightladder attachment each comprise a ladder panel, a ladder insert, ahandle, a pair of rod holes, an L-shaped rod, an extension arm, and aplurality of spine grooves; said trough comprises a spine rod, a lefthinge, a right hinge, a front frame, a back frame, and a fabric; saidL-shaped rod comprises a vertical portion and a horizontal portion; saidleft ladder attachment being positioned adjacent and below said trough;said right ladder attachment being positioned adjacent and below saidtrough opposite said left ladder attachment; and said trough beingseated upon said left ladder attachment and said right ladderattachment.
 9. The paint chip and drip catching ladder accessory asclaimed in claim 8 comprises, said ladder insert being centrallyconnected on said ladder panel; said handle being attached onto saidladder panel opposite said ladder insert; said pair of rod holes beingpositioned opposite of each other on said handle; said pair of rod holesbeing positioned concentric to each other; said pair of rod holes beingtraversed through by said L-shaped rod; said L-shaped rod beingconnected to said extension arm opposite said pair of rod holes; saidplurality of spine grooves being positioned on said extension arm; andsaid plurality of spine grooves of said left ladder attachment and saidplurality of spine grooves of said right ladder attachment beingpositioned to align with each other.
 10. The paint chip and dripcatching ladder accessory as claimed in claim 9 comprises, saidhorizontal portion being perpendicularly connected atop to said verticalportion; said pair of the rod holes being traversed through by saidvertical portion; and said extension arm being connected parallel tosaid horizontal portion opposite of said vertical portion.
 11. The paintchip and drip catching ladder accessory as claimed in claim 8 comprises,said front frame being jointly connected to said back frame by said lefthinge and said right hinge; said spine rod being connected in betweensaid left hinge and said right hinge; said fabric being positioned oversaid front frame, said spine rod, and said back frame; said fabric beingadhered to said front frame and said back frame; and said plurality ofspine grooves of said left ladder attachment and said plurality of spinegrooves of said right ladder attachment being engaged by said spine rod.12. A paint chip and drip catching ladder accessory comprises, a leftladder attachment; a right ladder attachment; a trough; said left ladderattachment and said right ladder attachment each comprise a ladderpanel, a ladder insert, a handle, a pair of rod holes, an L-shaped rod,an extension arm, and a plurality of spine grooves; said troughcomprises a spine rod, a left hinge, a right hinge, a front frame, aback frame, and a fabric; said L-shaped rod comprises a vertical portionand a horizontal portion; said left ladder attachment being positionedadjacent and below said trough; said right ladder attachment beingpositioned adjacent and below said trough opposite said left ladderattachment; said trough being seated upon said left ladder attachmentand said right ladder attachment; said ladder insert being centrallyconnected on said ladder panel; said handle being attached onto saidladder panel opposite said ladder insert; said pair of rod holes beingpositioned opposite of each other on said handle; said pair of rod holesbeing positioned concentric to each other; said pair of rod holes beingtraversed through by said L-shaped rod; said L-shaped rod beingconnected to said extension arm opposite said pair of rod holes; saidplurality of spine grooves being positioned on said extension arm; saidfront frame being jointly connected to said back frame by said lefthinge and said right hinge; said spine rod being connected in betweensaid left hinge and said right hinge; said fabric being positioned oversaid front frame, said spine rod, and said back frame; and said fabricbeing adhered to said front frame and said back frame.
 13. The paintchip and drip catching ladder accessory as claimed in claim 12comprises, said horizontal portion being perpendicularly connected atopto said vertical portion; said pair of the rod holes being traversedthrough by said vertical portion; and said extension arm being connectedparallel to said horizontal portion opposite of said vertical portion.14. The paint chip and drip catching ladder accessory as claimed inclaim 12 comprises, said plurality of spine grooves of said left ladderattachment and said plurality of spine grooves of said right ladderattachment being positioned to align with each other; and said pluralityof spine grooves of said left ladder attachment and said plurality ofspine grooves of said right ladder attachment being engaged by saidspine rod.